Pittsburgh Riverhounds
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| Pittsburgh Riverhounds | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Pittsburgh Riverhounds | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nickname(s) | Riverhounds/The Hounds | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Founded | 1999 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | Chartiers Valley HS Stadium (Capacity 4,600) |
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| Chairman |  Gene Klein |
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| Manager | Gene Klein |
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| League | USL Second Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2008 | in progress | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The Pittsburgh Riverhounds are an American soccer team and founded in 1999, which plays in the United Soccer Leagues Second Division, the third tier of the American Soccer Pyramid.
They play their home games in the stadium on the campus of Chartiers Valley High School in Collier Township, Pennsylvania which is located about 6 miles southwest of downtown Pittsburgh. The team's colors are black and blue.
The Hounds adopted the new royal blue hue in 2008 to honor their academy and training partnership with Everton FC of the English Premier League, and to salute the "blue collar" attitude of the populace of Pittsburgh. The Riverhounds promise to play "black and blue" soccer in 2008.
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[edit] 2008 Roster
as at June 6, 2008
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[edit] History
The Riverhounds were founded by Paul Heasley in 1999 as a member of the USL's A-League. It played its home games at Bethel Park High School Stadium, and was named the A-League Organization of the Year. The first head coach was John Kowalski and Justin Evans was the first player drafted to play for the Riverhounds.
In 2004, the club moved to the USL's Second Division, and also moved to Moon Stadium. In 2005, Heasley sold the team to the owners of the Washington Wild Things Frontier League baseball team. The Riverhounds played both the 2005 and 2006 seasons at the Wild Things minor league baseball stadium, Falconi Field (now known as Consol Energy Field) on the outskirts of Washington, Pennsylvania about 25 miles south of Pittsburgh. The franchise continued to hold soccer academies and training to youth across the Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia areas, but did not play during the 2007 season. During that hiatus, the Riverhounds were again sold to a new group and now play at Chartiers Valley Stadium, just off the Kirwin Heights Exit of Interstate 79 in Pittsburgh's South Hills.
The term "Riverhound" is derived from the expression "river dog", which refers to the men and woman who work on the many barges that ply the three rivers at their confluence in Pittsburgh. In fact, the team's mascot, AMO, is named for the Allegheny, Monongahela, and Ohio Rivers. AMO is pictured in the team's official logo.
On the pitch the Hounds have met with mixed success, having advanced to the A-league confererence semi-finals playoffs in their inaugural season. In 2001 they were eliminated from the US Open Cup in the quarterfinals by the Chicago Fire of Major League Soccer after two overtimes.
Only one number, "99", has been officially retired by the Pittsburgh Riverhounds. That honor was bestowed on original owner Paul Heasley for founding the club in 1999.
[edit] Coaching Staff
The Pittsburgh Riverhounds are led by Head Coach and General Manager Gene Klein. This will be his second season at the helm, after a brilliant career as the championship soccer coach at Quaker Valley High School. He is a member of the Western Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. Klein's staff will include Pittsburgh soccer notables John Kowalski, Paul Child, and Jeroen Walstra. Klein was the Head Coach in 2006, replacing Ricardo Irrabaren. Kowalski was the franchise's original Head Coach in 1999. Succeeding him were, in order, Kai Haaskivi, Tim Carter, then Irrabaren and Klein. Kowalski is also the Head Coach of the Robert Morris University Women's Soccer team. Previously, he coached the MLS Tampa Bay Mutiny, and the MISL Pittsburgh Spirit. Kowalski was inducted into the Robert Morris University Hall of Fame. Child is a longtime North American Soccer League (NASL) and Major Indoor Soccer League (MISL) All-Star, who played several seasons in Pittsburgh for the Spirit. He is a member of the National Soccer Hall of Fame. Klein has been with the Riverhounds almost continually, since the beginning. He was the Goalkeepers Coach under Kowalski and Haaskivi.
[edit] Front Office
- Gene Klein, GM and Head Coach
- Jason Kutney, a star player, is also the Director of Youth Soccer Development.
- Chris Shovlin will serve as the team's radio play-by-play announcer on WPIT-AM 730 in Pittsburgh, as well as the Director of Publicity and Communications. Shovlin and his former on-air partner Steve Bell won the 2003 Pittsburgh AIR (Achievement in Radio) Award for Best Play-By-Play for their call of a Riverhounds' win over the Indiana Blast. It was Shovlin's second AIR Award (he and Jeff Waller won the 1998 award for their call of Robert Morris University Football). He is a member of the Beaver County Sports Hall of Fame.
- Anna Arlotta is the team's Group Sales Manager. Scott Gibson is the Director of Academy Operations.
- Garrett MacKenzie and Lauren Kochirka are both Corporate Support Representatives.
[edit] Steel Army Supporters Group
In November of 2007, the Steel Army was formed when their first meeting was held at Pipers Pub in Pittsburgh's South Side. The group started as 5-10 local people interested in supporting the reorganized Riverhounds Football Club, and to support the efforts of growing the sport of soccer in Western Pennsylvania. The group has since in a short amount of time grown from those humble beginnings, with the steel army message board active daily with members discussing the Hounds, events, meetings, and the international game of football. Members are not only from Pittsburgh but also from states as close as Ohio to states as far away as Oregon and Florida. Membership in the Steel Army is now even international with members joining the group from Sunderland and Sheffield in the U.K. who will be following the Riverhounds from abroad.
The section of Chartiers Valley High School Stadium where the Steel Army stands and supports the Riverhounds from is called "The Yard". Supporters of the Hounds are welcome to join the Army in "The Yard" on game day to chant and sing the hounds onto victory!
The main song of the Steel Army is "Consider Yourself At Home" from the musical Oliver. In fact the words "One Of The Family" is a motto of the Steel Army, and can be found on a lot of items that the Steel Army produces. The song is sung by the Army with scarves held high when the players enter the field for matches.
The Steel Army has a rivalry with the Green Army (Supporters Club of the Cleveland City Stars). The rivalry and intensity between the Riverhounds and the City Stars on the pitch has carried into the stands. The Steel Army travels in mass to Cleveland when the two teams meet and the Green Army travels to Pittsburgh for the matches between the two teams as well. It can be argued that these two supporter groups are the best traveled supporter groups in USL-2.
[edit] Year-by-year
| Year | Division | League | Reg. Season | Playoffs | Open Cup |
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| 1999 | 2 | USL A-League | 4th, Northeast | Conference Semifinals | Did not qualify |
| 2000 | 2 | USL A-League | 7th, Atlantic | Did not qualify | 2nd Round |
| 2001 | 2 | USL A-League | 3rd, Northern | Quarterfinals | Quarterfinals |
| 2002 | 2 | USL A-League | 4th, Northeast | Did not qualify | Did not qualify |
| 2003 | 2 | USL A-League | 3rd, Northeast | Did not qualify | 3rd Round |
| 2004 | 3 | USL Pro Soccer League | 1st, Atlantic | Semifinals | Did not qualify |
| 2005 | 3 | USL Second Division | 7th | Did not qualify | 1st Round |
| 2006 | 3 | USL Second Division | 3rd | Semifinals | 1st Round |
| 2007 | USL Second Division | on hiatus |
[edit] Notable former players
- Devlin Barnes
- Tenywa Bonseu
- Franz Carr
- Paul Dougherty
- Justin Evans
- Adam Fedoruk
- Thiago Martins
- Joey Worthen
[edit] External links
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| Competitions in American Soccer | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Cup Competitions in American Soccer | |||||||||||||||||||||||
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